Rural high schools are most impacted by a negative organizational culture. Toxic behaviors prevail over the positive ones. Perspectives about what is possible to attain become jaded when school outcomes do not match individual expectations. If leadership does not treat sustaining a positive school culture as a priority, then the successful transition to the new demands of education is unlikely. The qualitative research was founded in the conceptual framework about change and culture in schools. A grounded theory approach was used in the methodology to examine the role collaboration and leadership play in establishing culture. Research questions addressed the role of collaboration in school culture change strategies to support a school culture, change agent qualities, and beliefs about transference. Themes regarding rural school culture, leadership and change emerged from the research. Data analysis using an open coding process generated themes of culture, collaboration, change, and leadership. Findings from the analysis of the data include: intentional collaboration techniques involvement focus; maintenance of positivity, using strong communication techniques, and application of effective change agent strategies. Leaders can support a positive school culture by having a focus on relationships, scheduling time for collaboration, intentionality, organization, and having a growth mindset. This supports implementation and sustainment of a respectful school culture focused on learning.
","abstract_html":"<p>Rural high schools are most impacted by a negative organizational culture. Toxic behaviors prevail over the positive ones. Perspectives about what is possible to attain become jaded when school outcomes do not match individual expectations. If leadership does not treat sustaining a positive school culture as a priority, then the successful transition to the new demands of education is unlikely. The qualitative research was founded in the conceptual framework about change and culture in schools. A grounded theory approach was used in the methodology to examine the role collaboration and leadership play in establishing culture. Research questions addressed the role of collaboration in school culture change strategies to support a school culture, change agent qualities, and beliefs about transference. Themes regarding rural school culture, leadership and change emerged from the research. Data analysis using an open coding process generated themes of culture, collaboration, change, and leadership. Findings from the analysis of the data include: intentional collaboration techniques involvement focus; maintenance of positivity, using strong communication techniques, and application of effective change agent strategies. Leaders can support a positive school culture by having a focus on relationships, scheduling time for collaboration, intentionality, organization, and having a growth mindset. This supports implementation and sustainment of a respectful school culture focused on learning.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Levesque, Kristen"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Doctor of Education (EdD)","degree_level":"Dissertation","degree_discipline":"Education","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Ella Benson","Peter Harrison","Nancy Harriman"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2017,"date_issued":"2017-06-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2017-06-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:21:05Z","subjects":["Educational Leadership","Elementary and Middle and Secondary Education Administration"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://dune.une.edu/theses/124","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Ella Benson","Peter Harrison","Nancy Harriman"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Levesque, Kristen"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2017-06-28T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Education"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Education (EdD)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Educational Leadership","Elementary and Middle and Secondary Education Administration"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://dune.une.edu/theses/124"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Rural high schools are most impacted by a negative organizational culture. Toxic behaviors prevail over the positive ones. Perspectives about what is possible to attain become jaded when school outcomes do not match individual expectations. If leadership does not treat sustaining a positive school culture as a priority, then the successful transition to the new demands of education is unlikely. The qualitative research was founded in the conceptual framework about change and culture in schools. A grounded theory approach was used in the methodology to examine the role collaboration and leadership play in establishing culture. Research questions addressed the role of collaboration in school culture change strategies to support a school culture, change agent qualities, and beliefs about transference. Themes regarding rural school culture, leadership and change emerged from the research. Data analysis using an open coding process generated themes of culture, collaboration, change, and leadership. Findings from the analysis of the data include: intentional collaboration techniques involvement focus; maintenance of positivity, using strong communication techniques, and application of effective change agent strategies. Leaders can support a positive school culture by having a focus on relationships, scheduling time for collaboration, intentionality, organization, and having a growth mindset. This supports implementation and sustainment of a respectful school culture focused on learning.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Culture Change In A Rural High School"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Ella Benson","Peter Harrison","Nancy Harriman"],"dc:creator":["Levesque, Kristen"],"dc:date.available":["2017-06-28T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Rural high schools are most impacted by a negative organizational culture. Toxic behaviors prevail over the positive ones. Perspectives about what is possible to attain become jaded when school outcomes do not match individual expectations. If leadership does not treat sustaining a positive school culture as a priority, then the successful transition to the new demands of education is unlikely. The qualitative research was founded in the conceptual framework about change and culture in schools. A grounded theory approach was used in the methodology to examine the role collaboration and leadership play in establishing culture. Research questions addressed the role of collaboration in school culture change strategies to support a school culture, change agent qualities, and beliefs about transference. Themes regarding rural school culture, leadership and change emerged from the research. Data analysis using an open coding process generated themes of culture, collaboration, change, and leadership. Findings from the analysis of the data include: intentional collaboration techniques involvement focus; maintenance of positivity, using strong communication techniques, and application of effective change agent strategies. Leaders can support a positive school culture by having a focus on relationships, scheduling time for collaboration, intentionality, organization, and having a growth mindset. This supports implementation and sustainment of a respectful school culture focused on learning.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://dune.une.edu/theses/124"],"dc:subject":["Educational Leadership","Elementary and Middle and Secondary Education Administration"],"dc:title":["Culture Change In A Rural High School"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Education"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Education (EdD)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:21:05Z"}